Japan grants residency to transgender foreigner

The Japanese government this week granted a long-term [email protected]*I6k0CosUbMj_XE6SAMxUIaJyP4SU*lEh$!uXvisa to a South Asian transgender woman.

It is believed to be the first transgender person to receive special permission to stay in the country, according to the JapGkCZm8*OFcW*b3cdZxVkrbPYb)QApErj$rvDSgw#*[email protected]an Times.

The 58-year-old was granted a one-year long-term resident visslin=4SpkMb#((QH9bWE_rqq&vn4#kx^XNSD3uGbtn_o5a*=H-a. She first came to Japan in 1981 under an entertainer visa.

She could not return to her home country because she faced abuseX))eDBBsbDEu3rUPnpS9g-2s7T5T2V0*[email protected]*YdH&NLhP2KiG because of her gender identity, the Japan Times reports.

In 2002 she met her current partner. The pair registered their WYU(5dr=O+8d$yYaSlUVK&xX(1v$5$6i3U%[email protected]relationship in 2016.

“Her long-term relationship with a Japanese man may have been a decisive factor the Justice Ministry took into consideration while reviewing the case,” said Miho Kumazawa, a lawyer represy)L([email protected]%Kx+Oq$^rFKdTkB)eGenting the woman, at a news conference in Tokyo on Monday.

“I need to repay the kindness I’ve been given (by Japan) and I’ll do my best to keep my promise I gave when I was granted the visa” the woman, who refused to give her name or nationality, said during Monday’s news conference.

LGBTI rights in Japan

Japan is the only member of the G7 bloc of most-developed nations that does not recognize same-sex marri==4aR*UqOXFqmA8XO5Iaxe%VlK%fbQag7PsEi1lA3ucpmIiVO_age.

National laws do not protect LGBTI people from discrimination. The country’s l[email protected]$-jT6DQ#fd4)[email protected]aws also require transgender citizens to undergo sterilization in order to officially change gender.

And, 13 same-sex couples are taking thJ#[email protected]%ngWfJ(VRRZUJ_sV1#o7u^uXhnCubDle government to court to recognize their relationships.

In March this year, Japan granted special permission to a gay TaiwanekM(C#[email protected]=Syq(xG9eVmpWdDjrhqKdJ4k3u(%lV!6*sTx7Nse man to stay in Japan with his partner.

The man, who is in his 40s, lived withiIWIsijX#h(8%k57BsxBT&rdWwrz(NHpX%xVWEMEYNXX0_+U!W his partner in Japan for 25 years.

He illegally overstayed his visa. H3^nF%%lVGL7w2$eH=Us1yZ$&sjM3DJaFefZW9($!)Gn-=R2$bOowever, in a rare move by the government, his deportation order was revoked and a special residency status was granted.

And, in July, it was announced that Japan last year granted an LGBTI refugee asylum last year as they were at risk du8oRuargTqg1eiiYP+L4nz^[email protected]%gM(e to their sexuality in their country of origin.

ItfWDgC%r4LH)YTcf8MG8kbI*EGRh+8HcQru$1uOKnr(4JmwJrKx was the first known case of Japan granting asylum based on sexual orientation.

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